RECENT & ENJOYABLE HISTORY

The Woolwich Observer pblished an article on Saturday, August 29, 2015 titled "Woolwich resident urges reform in wake of council election expense woes". The Woolwich resident was Richard Clausi and he spoke to Woolwich Council on the matter on August 25, 2015. He gave councillors about ten different suggestions so that they could avoid future problems in running afoul of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act (MEA). Mr. Clausi also advised that excuses that the MEA is vague, grey or confusing are exactly that: excuses. ..................................................................................................................................... Mr. Clausi also took Woolwich Township as well as the judicial system to task when he described the farce of Sandy Shantz being reinstated by a judge to the mayor's chair. He referred to it as "throwing the game" as the "prosecution" refused to present evidence, including verbal or written evidence from the complainant (yours truly). Mr. Clausi also advised council and the public that Ms. Shantz's written evidence to the judge (Justice David Broad) contradicted her verbal evidence in Council chambers to the Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) regarding when they received an audited statement from her accountant. He then publicly asked Ms. Shantz "Are you telling me that you perjured yourself?" ..................................................................................................... Among his many reccommendations, Mr. Clausi advised that staff in the Municipal Clerk's office desperately needed to receive more training regarding the requirements of the MEA and regarding when to formally advise councilors and mayor that they have forfeited their seat on council due to a serious transdgression. All in all it was a very calm and straightforward presentation clarifying many obvious failures and illegal actions taken by a number of councillors (and mayor), contrary to the Ontario Municipal Elections Act. These actions taken by myself, Dr. Dan Holt, Richard Clausi and with help from others certainly have endeared ourselves to the local (corrupt?) power structure. Perhaps in future they will begin to understand that politicians who live in glass houses should be very careful about throwing the first stones at citizen volunteers doing their duty.